


Movie Night

by Hantastic



Series: Dirk Gently drabbles [2]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Movie Night, slight angst/triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 14:18:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9185354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hantastic/pseuds/Hantastic
Summary: Dirk, Todd, Farah and Amanda have one of their regular movie nights. Tonight it's Disney night, and the gang are shocked to discover Dirk has never seen a Disney film before.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, here's another fluffy little fic. I really love all of the characters in this series and I want to get to grips with every single one of them, they're all just fantastic. Have a bit of an extra soft-spot for Dirk though, the lil' cutie, so this one mostly focuses on him just because I find him the easiest to write.  
> Hope you enjoy it :)

“Where the hell have they gone, ugh!” Amanda lobbed a throw cushion across the room in dismay. “Dirk, are you sitting on them?”

“ _Hmm_ …” Dirk shuffled his bum experimentally, refusing to unbundle from his blanket cocoon. “I don’t feel anything crunchy or cheesy so I don’t think so, _ooh!”_

Dirk wrestled his arm out from underneath the tightly curled blanket and plucked the fallen cushion from where it had been unceremoniously tossed. Brushing it with his hand, Dirk carefully positioned it within the blanket-pillow nest he’d arranged on the floor.

“I’ve got them Amanda, panic over.” Farah chuckled, coming in from the kitchen with Todd and the snacks. Farah passed the tangy cheese Doritos over to Amanda who cheered and opened them – happily munching away as Farah rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Out of the four of them, only Todd and Amanda liked cheesy Doritos but since Dirk always pulled a face at the smell, Todd usually relinquished the bag to Amanda on movie nights - although Farah sometimes found him searching for remnants in the bag when cleaning up.

Dirk mumbled happily on the cushion’s positioning, smiling up at Todd and patting it encouragingly.

“This bit’s for you Todd; I saved you the blue blanket because I know it’s your favourite.”

“Thanks Dirk,” Todd laughed, settling himself beside the detective. Dirk really liked blankets and throw pillows, as they’d all discovered once their movie night tradition kicked off. He was _obsessed_ with them. His friends found it quite sweet really how Dirk was like some kind of throw-cushion magpie. It was custom to leave him to his arrangement whilst they sorted the refreshments.

Dirk’s favourite position was on the floor next to Todd and 80% of the blankets. Farah and Amanda preferred to take the couch with one thick blanket between them. For Christmas, Amanda had already planned to get Dirk a mermaid tail blanket just to see what would happen. Originally she’d been planning to get Farah one, but the two of them liked snuggling up under the big woollen blanket Amanda’s parents had given her, and she didn’t really want to end that.

“Right gang,” Amanda clapped her hands together as everyone got settled with their own choice of snacks. “Which film do we want first? Tonight, I’m deciding Disney is the theme.”

“What’s Disney?”

Three sets of wide-eyes turned to Dirk who was innocently nibbling his way through a strawberry lace. After a collective stunned silence, he looked up at them expectantly. “Well? What is it? I don’t know, I’ve never heard of it.”

“You’ve never heard of Disney films, Dirk?” Farah raised her eyebrows as the Brit shook his head.

“Should I have?”

“ _Phht!_ What kind of childhood did you even have?” Amanda scoffed. Todd shot her a look as she belatedly realised. “Shit, sorry I mean, er…”

No one really knew how to finish that. Dirk’s past was still a bit of a mystery but they all knew it was bad. They’d seen enough of Blackwing to know that much.

Dirk continued nibbling the lace, his bright expression unchanging. “Not a very Disney-filled one apparently,” he joked, smiling up at Amanda to let her know she’d done anything wrong. “So in the aim to rectify that immediately, I demand you all to educate me in whatever this _Disney-_ thing is.”

 Subsequently, this sparked a debate on what Disney film it was best to introduce Dirk to first.

“Clearly _The Fox and the Hound_. It’s a heart-felt classic!”

“Todd, stop being ridiculous – you only like that film because the fox has your name.”

“No, I love it for many reasons! Dirk would too – it’s a great story of friendship! What would you pick for him Amanda?”

“Erm, quite blatantly _The Lion King_! It’s got all the best music and the best storyline and it’s full of lions!”

“Dirk doesn’t even like lions, do you Dirk!”

“Erm...”

 “Farah, what do you think?”

“I like lions.”

“About the film choice?”

“Oh, well my favourite is _Mulan_ but-”

“Look,” Dirk interrupted, holding up his hands placatingly. “I’m sure they’re all _very_ good. I trust everyone’s judgement - I hadn’t watched many films at all before I met you guys and I’ve liked all of your choices so far. Like the Ringing of the Three Lords; those were most excellent!”

“Lord of the Rings?” Todd tried.

“The one with the monkey-like fellow who liked jewellery, yes, I think that was it.” Dirk continued. “Anyway, I don’t mind what we watch really, I just like being with you guys and blankets and strawberry-flavoured confectionary; the film is of little consequence.”

The detective beamed at them all one by one, finishing at Todd who smiled back guiltily.

“You’re a good friend Dirk.” He whispered, and he could have sworn the detective’s cheeks blushed a little. “Yeah, I don’t mind what we watch either. If you think the Lion King is the best Amanda then that’s what we’ll watch.”

“No, Dirk’s right, it doesn’t matter what we watch. You can pick Todd.”

“Why don’t we watch all of them?” Farah suggested. “We have all night?”

“Sure. Which one would you like first Dirk?” Todd asked, as the detective rummaged around for something. Guessing what it was, Todd offered him the strawberry pencils and Dirk smiled gratefully.

“Well,” Dirk began, chewing on a pencil. “I’m very fond of animals in general, so maybe one of the first two?”

They decided to watch _The Lion King_ first. Amanda knew all the lyrics to _‘Be Prepared’_ and acted it out, much to Farah and Dirk’s amusement and Todd’s annoyance (on account of being subjected to it since childhood).

At the moment of Mufasa’s death however, the room got a bit hushed.

_“Dad? Dad, c’mon! …You gotta get up…Dad? We gotta go home.”_

Farah sniffled loudly and Amanda passed her a tissue.

_“Help! Somebody! Anybody?!”_

Dirk let out a pained sound, sort of like a whine. Todd shuffled closer, asking an unresponsive Dirk if he was alright.

_“Help.”_

Simba’s defeated plea as he nuzzled up to his father was what did it.  Dirk started bawling; curling up in the blankets and hugging a throw pillow to his face. Todd reached out towards him and Dirk latched onto him like a limpet – his lanky body shaking around each sob as his friend patted him on the back – looking up at the other two in alarm.

“Hey,  hey Dirk, _shh_ , it’s alright,” Amanda whispered, leaning in and stroking Dirk’s hair affectionately. “We’re here. You alright buddy?”

Dirk let out a few little sniffles as he wiped his face on Todd’s jumper.

“Yes, yes sorry. Oh god, now all the blankets are covered in tears and Todd’s all snotty!” Dirk sniffled as Farah passed him a tissue. “H-he’s so snotty!” Dirk shifted his head back to Todd’s jacket as his friend pat him on the back, looking  at Amanda in disbelief.

“Dirk it’s okay. It’s okay, I don’t mind being snotty.” Todd reassured him gently, keeping his tone soothing.

“But the blankets Todd! They’ll never be okay again, they’ll be crusty and-and- moist and covered in snot and they won’t get up! They just won’t get up!”

As Dirk sobbed into Todd, Farah paused the TV and snuck off to the kitchen. She returned a moment later with two tubs of ice-cream and four spoons.

“Dirk?”

“Yes Farah? Sweet, naïve Farah with your beautiful hair just like a lion’s mane? Just like his mane-”

“I know Dirk, sweetie, it’s okay, it’ll be okay – I have some ice-cream for you okay? It’s your favourite.”

“Phish food?” Dirk’s watery eyes lit up and he peeked up from Todd’s hoodie.

“Mhmm.”

A few spoonfuls of ice-cream later and the trauma seemed to have passed. Amanda and Farah migrated down to the floor so they could snuggle up to Dirk as well, which seemed to help the red-eyed detective calm down a lot faster.

Todd held the tub and let Dirk dig around for the little chocolate fish whilst they continued to play the film. Amanda fed Todd little spoonfuls from the cookie dough tub so he didn’t need his hands free.

The rest of the film went much smoother. Dirk seemed to enjoy Timon and Pumbaa, saying they reminded him a little of Bart and Ken. He wasn’t as fond of the romance scene between the lions, pulling faces at the lions rolling around in the long grass whilst the others hid their giggles at his facial commentary. Overall though, the film was a success.

‘Mulan’ was next on the list, which was universally loved. Amanda and Dirk got up and acted out a warrior sequence to ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ which Farah filmed on her phone.

Last but not least, was ‘The Fox and the Hound’. It had gotten quite late and Todd realised the room had quietened down significantly. Checking beside him, he saw Farah and Amanda had fallen asleep – resting on each other and breathing deeply.

Shaking his head fondly, Todd turned to the man curled up on his lap who was watching the film intently.

“You okay Dirk?”

“Mmm. I think I like Disney.”

“Yeah?”

“This one’s my favourite so far though.”

Todd smiled. “Me too.”

Dirk peered up at Todd, twisting in his blanket cocoon to get a good look at his friend. His brow was furrowed in that way it got when he was going to ask a question.

“Todd?”

“Yes Dirk?”

“Do you think that foxes could ever be trained as _ninjas_?”

“…Why?” Todd could physically see a plan forming behind Dirk’s eyes, the cogs turning in his brain. He tried to decide whether he should be more concerned or amused.

“Well, they’re very good at outrunning dogs and light on their feet but I suppose the bushy tail might get in the way of some of the more complex ninja manoeuvres, but if we adapted the martial art specifically _for_ foxes, we could incorporate the tail as some kind of weapon or defence mechanism as opposed to a hindrance as some people might consider it. However, the empathetic nature of this fox in the film could prove troublesome. Could someone ever be too nice to be a ninja do you think?”

“I suppose it would depend what the person – or fox – used their ninja-ness for.”

“Do you think I would I make a good ninja Todd?”

“Maybe. Do you want to be a ninja?”

“Not really. I’m not a massive fan of the colour scheme; I think that’s more equipped to your wardrobe department than my own. Or Amanda’s. Ooh, you could be ninja siblings!”

“I think Farah’s the closest to a ninja we’re going to get around here Dirk.” Todd chuckled.

“Very true, Farah’s ninja-ness is far superior to any of ours.” Dirk shuffled around to his right. “You would make an excellent ninja Far– oh, she’s asleep.”

Dirk paused, gasping.

“Or _is she?_ Maybe she’s in ninja stealth mode trying to trick us and-”

“She’s drooling Dirk. I’m pretty sure she’s asleep.”

“Ah.”

“Maybe we should sleep too, it’s getting late.”

“Can we get to the end of the film first? I want to see if Tod and Copper stay the best of friends.”

“I’m sure they do Dirk, but okay.”

“Good.” Dirk flashed Todd that little smile of his and snuggled back down into the blanket nest, content once more.


End file.
